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March 08, 2025
 

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JAPAN

The Maritime Self-Defense Force's destroyer Akizuki (far left) leads the MSDF fleet during a naval review in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo, in October 2012.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2025
Japanese destroyer passes through Taiwan Strait for just second time
The solo passage last month by the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Akizuki comes amid warming ties with Beijing, but also follows ramped-up military pressure by China.
Firefighters work to extinguish the forest fire in the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, in this screenshot of a video footage from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency on Friday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Mar 3, 2025
Why the latest Iwate wildfire is so difficult to extinguish
By Yukana Inoue
The unusually dry weather, strong winds, the prefecture's mountainous terrain — as well as what's known as a fire cycle — have made the situation worse than usual.
Koichiro Ito, a producer of the hit Japanese anime film "Your Name," has been convicted of "violating laws on child prostitution and pornography" as well as non-consensual sex and the filming of indecent images, a Wakayama District Court spokesperson said on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2025
'Your Name.' anime producer jailed over obscene acts against minors
Koichiro Ito was reportedly accused of paying a 15-year-old girl money in return for sex, and demanding that another teenager take and send him explicit photos of herself.
Osaka Prefectural Police headquarters. A man was arrested on Saturday after the body of a child was found in an apartment unit in Yao, Osaka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2025
Osaka police arrest man after child's body found encased in concrete
An unemployed man who lives in Hirano Ward in the city of Osaka allegedly abandoned the child's body in the city of Yao, Osaka Prefecture.
Without the well-developed road infrastructure of many parts of Honshu, it has never been easy to be a truck driver in Hokkaido, Japan’s second-largest island but largest prefecture in terms of landmass-
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Mar 3, 2025
Hokkaido trucking industry faces challenges from overtime cap
By Eric Johnston
Without the well-developed road infrastructure of many parts of Honshu, it has never been easy to be a truck driver in Hokkaido.
Students from Hiroshima Global Academy chat over gyōza dumplings with "island guardian" Koshi Omori at his home in Osakikamijima, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 3, 2025
Model school for global education rooted on small Hiroshima island
The school hopes its well-equipped students will help inspire and bring new energy to the aging island community.
Government stockpiled rice stored in a warehouse on Feb. 18 in Saitama Prefecture
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2025
Japanese government to auction stockpiled rice on March 10
It is the first time stockpiled rice will be released to ensure smooth distribution. This was previously limited to cases of seriously poor harvests and large-scale disasters.
Japan Tobacco plans to record nearly ¥400 billion in loss allowances as sales expenses for the settlement.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2025
Japan Tobacco and others agree to settle Canadian litigation
For the settlement, Japan Tobacco plans to record nearly ¥400 billion in loss allowances as sales expenses.
The "Ishinomaki Kokeshi" created by craftsman Takatoshi Hayashi to promote his hometown are not confined to the traditional designs of the simple Japanese wooden dolls.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 3, 2025
Ishinomaki craftsman promotes hometown with unique wooden dolls after 3/11
Starting out as a complete amateur, Takatoshi Hayashi now receives orders from abroad for his “Ishinomaki Kokeshi” as his renown spreads online.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 3, 2025
Japan unlikely to attend future meetings for nuke ban treaty
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi indicates that Tokyo's absence from this week's meeting is due to the treaty being incompatible with U.S. nuclear deterrence.
Journalist Kazuyoshi Konishi says many men lack a sense of ownership and responsibility over issues such as women's empowerment and child-rearing, leading to such policies being overlooked.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 3, 2025
Male participation key to solving gender issues, journalist says
Gender inequality in the household is a large barrier to women’s participation in politics, creating a vicious cycle that delays progress, Kazuyoshi Konishi says.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions during a Lower House Budget Committee meeting at parliament on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 3, 2025
Ishiba says Japan won't take sides in U.S. row with Ukraine
By Jesse Johnson
The Japanese leader sought to strike a balance for Japan, the sole Asian G7 member, in its alliance with the U.S. and its longstanding support for Kyiv.
Takuya Mori, a curator of Yokkaichi Municipal Museum in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, works on converting magnetic recordings kept at the museum into digital files.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Mar 3, 2025
Magnetic tapes at risk without digitization, archive groups warn
UNESCO has called for the digitization of audio and video recordings kept in academic and cultural institutions.
Shinsuke Kimura, head of the Recovery Support Center, talks about the group's activities during an interview in Tokyo last week.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2025
Nonprofit supporting victims of 1995 Tokyo sarin attack to disband
The Recovery Support Center was created as many victims complained of problems with their eyes even years after medical examinations began to be offered.
The entrance to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, in the city of Hiroshima, on Feb. 22
JAPAN / Society
Mar 3, 2025
Annual visitors to Hiroshima museum top 2 million for the first time
The total number of visitors since the museum's opening is expected to surpass 80 million by the end of this month.
Pedestrians commute through Shibuya Station in central Tokyo, an area that is almost never devoid of people.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Mar 3, 2025
As the rest of Japan shrinks, Tokyo grows
By Alex K.T. Martin
Women and young people are leading a migratory wave that the government is struggling to halt.

ASIA PACIFIC

Bybit, one of the biggest crypto exchanges, was forced to borrow from other platforms and use its own treasury funds to replace the roughly 515,000 tokens, mostly Ether but also derivatives of the coin, that were stolen in the North Korean attack.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 3, 2025
North Korea’s $1.5 billion heist puts the crypto world on notice
Cybersecurity researchers quickly concluded that the era of giant digital-asset heists had entered a new and potentially ruinous phase following the theft.

WORLD

Destroyed homes after the Palisades Fire near Los Angeles on Jan. 30
WORLD / Society
Mar 3, 2025
Fire danger in LA is all around, but signals to residents are mixed
By Leslie Kaufman, Andre Tartar and Armand Emamdjomeh
There is a disparity between what data on the issue is freely available and the fuller data that private companies can pay to access.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in London on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 3, 2025
Trump sees Zelenskyy as the problem, but Ukrainians stand by him
By Daryna Krasnolutska, Olesia Safronova and Volodymyr Verbianyi
The more the U.S. President and his vice president squeeze Zelenskyy, the more Ukrainians rally to their leader's side.
Ukrainian servicewomen Natalia (right), 53, and her daughter Veronika, 26, from the 100th mechanized brigade, pose for a photo at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region in Ukraine on Feb. 15.
WORLD / Society
Mar 3, 2025
'Under my wing': Mothers and daughters serving together in Ukraine
By Lea DAUPLE and Kseniia TOMCHYK
Ukrainian servicewomen Natalia, 53, and her daughter Veronika, 26, serve in the 100th mechanized brigade.
A Rohingya girl feeds a child from a jar carrying the USAID logo at a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Feb. 11.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 3, 2025
USAID official put on leave after warning of deaths due to Trump's aid block
By Andrea Shalal
The Trump administration announced last week that it was canceling nearly 10,000 foreign aid grants and contracts worth almost $60 billion, ending about 90% of USAID's global work.
A Russian military vehicle heads toward Hmeimim air base in Latakia, Syria, on Dec. 15.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 3, 2025
Russia gambles to keep military bases in post-Assad Syria
By Samia Nakhoul and Timour Azhari
Syria's interim president wants to renegotiate the 49-year lease for one base and an indefinite lease for the other to secure better terms.
People gather by the rubble of destroyed buildings for a mass gathering for a communal iftar fast-breaking meal on the second day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the area of al-Dahduh in Gaza City's Tal al-Hawa district on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 3, 2025
Israel blocks aid to devastated Gaza as truce's first phase ends
By Marc Jourdier
The decision came as talks on a truce extension appeared to hit an impasse, after the ceasefire's 42-day first phase drew to a close.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy either "needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that."
WORLD / Politics
Mar 3, 2025
Trump allies pressure Zelenskyy to change course or resign
Democrats, meanwhile, have expressed disgust over the tenor of U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with the Ukrainian leader.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron embrace after holding a meeting during a summit at Lancaster House in central London on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 3, 2025
European leaders seek ‘coalition of willing’ to secure Ukraine
Britain and France aim to take a "Europe-plus” grouping to U.S. President Donald Trump in coming days to get his buy-in.

BUSINESS

An electronic sign displays the benchmark Nikkei stock average on a street in Tokyo. The stock average has been range-bound between about 38,000 and 40,000 since hitting a new all-time high in July last year.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 3, 2025
Japanese stocks stalled at 1989 levels as investors weigh tariffs and rates
By Kazuaki Nagata
The 225-issue Nikkei stock average has been range-bound between about 38,000 and 40,000 since hitting a new all-time high in July 2024.
In recent years, Japanese life insurers have increasingly entered contracts in which assets underwritten by reinsurance companies are invested to obtain higher returns.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2025
Japan’s FSA said to examine life insurers’ reinsurance risks
By Nao Sano
The Financial Services Agency is asking life insurers about the scale of the practice and the type of contracts they have in place.
JR East started the services in Minamiboso and Tateyama, cities in Chiba Prefecture, on Monday and will begin them in Senboku, Akita Prefecture, in the second half of this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025
JR East to offer ride-hailing services at limited locations
The firm started the services in the cities of Minamiboso and Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture on Monday, and will begin them in Senboku, Akita Prefecture, later this year.
JX Advanced Metals' shares will be offered at ¥810 to ¥820 each after feedback from investors, the firm said in a filing in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025
JX Metals cuts price of Japan’s biggest IPO since SoftBank
By Yasutaka Tamura
The shares will be offered at ¥810 to ¥820 each after feedback from investors, JX Metals said in a filing in Tokyo on Monday.
Seven & I Holdings CEO Ryuichi Isaka is stepping down from his position, the Nikkei newspaper has reported.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025
7-Eleven owner to appoint first foreign CEO, report says
By Kanoko Matsuyama
The owner's plan to take the company private to avoid being taken over by Couche-Tard collapsed last week, piling pressure on it to reconsider the $47 billion takeover proposal.
Blackstone said it agreed to purchase 60% of Tokyo-based CMIC, a contract research organization, in a deal that values the company in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025
Blackstone buys Japan drug trial firm, adding to private equity health deals
By Lisa Du and Takako Taniguchi
Blackstone has been increasingly active in Japan’s life science sector amid a wider buyout boom in the country.
A worker assembles electronic car keys at a manufacturing plant in Jalisco State, Mexico, on Feb. 20. The production of key fobs is an example of the benefits of the USMCA free trade agreement, which has simplified manufacturing and supply chains.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025
The risks of Trump tariffs encapsulated in a car key
By Yussel Gonzalez
Electronic car keys are assembled in Mexico, but can cross borders in North America several times before being finished.
Maersk shipping containers are stored aboard the ‘Albert Maersk’ in Navi Mumbai, India, on Feb. 28.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025
U.S. tariffs and easing of Middle East tensions threaten reversal of shipping boom
By Chloe Meley and Rachel Yeo
Global liner rates fell 5.9% sequentially in the week ended Feb. 27, after earlier breaking below $3,000 per 12-meter container for the first time since early May
The higher cost of food is forcing Japanese consumers to scrimp and bargain hunt as their purchasing power drops.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 3, 2025
Japan’s consumers hunt for bargains as food inflation bites
By Yui Hasebe, Koh Yoshida and Haruka Iwai
The prices of staples such as rice, eggs and cabbage have all surged in the past 12 months.
A woman checks her phone at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, in 2020. Passengers on South Korean airlines must now keep power banks and e-cigarettes on their person and not in overhead cabin bins.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 3, 2025
Seoul's lithium battery rules on planes highlight growing risk for aviation
By Lisa Barrington
Passengers on South Korean airlines must now keep power banks and e-cigarettes on their person and not in overhead cabin compartments.
Xiaobaodang Coal Mine, in Shaanxi province, China, in 2023. China, which mines and burns half the world’s coal, is facing swelling inventories of the fuel.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025
Coal’s four-year lows hide a coming global supply squeeze
By Stephen Stapczynski, Dan Murtaugh and Will Wade
Demand for the fuel continues to rise in India and China, outpacing breakneck rates of expansion in solar and wind.
Container cranes at the Port of Vancouver in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Friday
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 3, 2025
Trump heads toward tariff barrage on Canada, Mexico and China
By Josh Wingrove
The long-promised tariffs scheduled to take effect Tuesday would easily be among the most sweeping of the Trump era, applying to roughly $1.5 trillion in annual imports.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025
Xi prepares to unveil China stimulus plan as trade war heats up
AI breakthroughs and Xi’s recent embrace of private entrepreneurs have driven a rally ahead of the National People’s Congress.

Opinion

To achieve a stable supply chain and propel semiconductor innovation, Japan's government and chipmakers are increasingly building bridges with foreign firms.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 3, 2025
Japan is no island when it comes to semiconductors. Rightly so.
By Andrew Capistrano
To achieve a stable supply chain and propel semiconductor innovation, Japan's government and chipmakers are increasingly building bridges with foreign firms.
Kumamon, the official mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, poses in front of a sign of Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., at TSMC's then new factory in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, in February 2024.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 3, 2025
In chip renaissance, Japan is learning from past mistakes
By Kazuto Suzuki
In the 1980s, Japan dominated semiconductor production. Fast-forward to today and the country is trying to recapture its past glory, this time with a more outward-looking strategy.
A new study analyzing organs from deceased individuals found plastic particles accumulating primarily in the brain, with the highest concentrations in recent autopsies, raising concerns about long-term exposure despite unclear health effects.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2025
You might have plastic in your brain. Don’t panic — yet.
By F.D. Flam
It’s unsettling, but the amount of plastic in your brain is probably less than the plastic spoon’s worth grabbing the headlines.
If U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt had forced British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to surrender to Adolf Hitler and hand over his country's coal with no U.S. security guarantees, it would resemble what Donald Trump did to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2025
The Oval Office meeting that damaged America’s standing
By Bret Stephens
Had Roosevelt forced Churchill to surrender to Hitler and hand over his country's coal with no U.S. security guarantees, it would resemble what Trump did to Zelenskyy.

Sports

Arsenal's Martin Odegaard (right) scores against Manchester City at Emirates Stadium in London on Feb. 2.
SOCCER
Mar 3, 2025
Arsenal gets chance to salvage season in Champions League
Conquering Europe for the first time appears to be Arsenal's only chance of ending a five-year trophy drought.
Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno (right) celebrates with his teammates after their win over Manchester United in Manchester, England, on Sunday.
SOCCER
Mar 3, 2025
Fulham upsets Manchester United to reach FA Cup quarterfinals
Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno was the hero in the shootout
Astros left fielder Jose Altuve makes a throw home during a game against the Nationals in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 3, 2025
Jose Altuve takes on challenge of learning to play left field for Astros
By Chandler Rome
Jose Altuve is moving to left field after 14 seasons in MLB.
Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates after winning the Dubai Championships on Saturday.
TENNIS
Mar 3, 2025
Stefanos Tsitsipas finds comfort zone after winning with 'mystery' racket
The 26-year-old's first tour title since Monte Carlo last April ended his long drought in ATP 500 tournaments and vaulted him back into the top 10 of the world rankings.
Federica Brignone competes in the super-G race in Kvitfjell, Norway, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 3, 2025
Federica Brignone wins super-G to extend overall World Cup lead
Brignone, the 2020 overall champion, was fourth and fifth in the two downhills over the weekend.
Adrian Newey, Aston Martin's new managing technical partner, speaks during a news conference in Silverstone, Britain, on Sept. 10, 2024.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 3, 2025
New Aston Martin designer Adrian Newey ready to get back to drawing board
Cars designed by Newey have won 12 constructors' championships for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull and 223 grand prix since 1991.
WADA's Gunter Younger speaks during a news conference in December 2019.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 3, 2025
WADA looking to extend investigative program to Oceania and Asia
WADA launched the Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) program in Europe in 2022.

LIFE

A glimpse at the entrance of Golden Gai, where the vibrant streets invite you to explore its lively nightlife and rich culture.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 3, 2025
Stories from behind the bar at Shinjuku's Golden Gai
By Mika Inoue
Once the home of Tokyo's black market, this 6,600 sq. meter district has nearly 300 tiny bars packed into it.

CULTURE

Director Sean Baker (center) poses with the Oscars for best picture, best director, best film editing and best original screenplay for "Anora" as producers Alex Coco and Samantha Quan pose with the Oscar for best picture for "Anora" in the Oscars photo room at the 97th Academy Awards.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 3, 2025
Small-budget sex worker romp 'Anora' triumphs at Oscars
By Huw Griffith
Sean Baker's dark comedy scooped up five awards including best picture at this year's Academy Awards, which was a relatively staid affair compared to previous editions.

COMMUNITY

Tsuyoshi Mizukoshi, owner of a pub in Nishiogi’s commercial area, is a community organizer who is rallying local residents against the road development plan.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Mar 3, 2025
Redevelopment and resistance in historic Nishiogikubo
By Aviraj Gokool
Stakeholders in Suginami Ward have been fighting against a road development plan for some years — but economic forces are already transforming the neighborhood.
Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
Tokyo responds to Trump remarks on 'interesting' Japan-U.S. security pact
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 7.
Nagoya High Court rules not recognizing same-sex marriage unconstitutional
Following the Nagoya High Court ruling on the same-sex marriage lawsuit, lawyers and others raise banners and boards that read "unconstitutional" and similar statements on Friday in Naka Ward, Nagoya.
Foreign single mothers struggle with language barriers and visas
Forbidden from seeing friends and forced to devote herself to housework, Reina (whose name has been changed), a 37-year-old Filipino national living in the city of Nagoya, became socially isolated.
At 102, world's oldest pharmacist celebrates her calling
Kesa Hatamoto, a 102-year-old Japanese woman who is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest pharmacist, speaks during an interview on Jan. 28 in Tokyo's Meguro Ward.
Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
‘Granny hobbies’ are the new self-care
Yarn shortages are a sign that hobbies like knitting and crochet are gaining in popularity.
Can Shiori Ito’s documentary open Japan’s black box?
Shiori Ito is the first Japanese director to have been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature film. "Black Box Diaries," which tells the story of her quest for justice following her rape in 2015, hasn't been released in Japan.
Japanese stocks stalled at 1989 levels as investors weigh tariffs and rates
An electronic sign displays the benchmark Nikkei stock average on a street in Tokyo. The stock average has been range-bound between about 38,000 and 40,000 since hitting a new all-time high in July last year.
Redevelopment and resistance in historic Nishiogikubo
Tsuyoshi Mizukoshi, owner of a pub in Nishiogi’s commercial area, is a community organizer who is rallying local residents against the road development plan.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high
Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high

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